I agree. His Dark Materials are the three books I can reccommend to anyone. I love that there's a lit. section now!

My favs in no perticular order:

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
This is possibly THE greatest science fiction novel of all time. I can't stress enough how great it is. In fact, two english teachers at my school are now having their classes read it.

Battlefield - L. Ron Hubbard
Ignore the terrible movie, this 1050 page monster is an epic within itself. Hardcore scifi readers reccommended.

Rainbow Six - Tome Clancy
Yeah, THIS is where all those video games came from. Seriously, it's his best book with non-stop action and a great plot.

The Best of Dave Barry - Dave Barry
If none of you know who Dave Barry is, you should be dragged out into the street and shot. Proclaimed as the funniest man in america, his short articles written for the Miami Herald will have you dying laughing. People look at me all crazy when I start snorting while trying to suppress a snigger. Amazing journalism.